Double Duplicity
by boswifedeb
Summary: When Leonard Bradshaw hires Matt to find out who is trying to kill him, he tries to leave out a few important details – like the fact that he's been cheating on his wife. As the investigation progresses, Matt, CJ, Roy, and Lt. Michael Hoyt end up being dragged into the depths of a major double-cross. Rate M for adult situations. Not my characters, just borrowing them for a while.
1. Chapter 1

**Double Duplicity**

****This story immediately follows "Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave"****

"**Four misfortunes befall a heedless man who commits adultery:**

**acquisition of demerit, disturbed sleep, thirdly blame,**

**and fourthly a state of woe."**

**Buddha**

**CHAPTER 1**

"Houston, Mr. Bradshaw is here." Chris stepped into CJ's office where she and Matt had been going over some paperwork for closed cases.

He looked over at their eight week old daughter, Catey Rose, who had fallen asleep in her playpen. "Guess I better talk to him out here so I don't disturb Catey." He followed Chris out through the door into the lobby of the office. "Mr. Bradshaw? Nice to meet you. I'm Matt Houston." The two men shook hands. "If you would come on back we'll see what we can do for you." Matt led the way into the main part of the office. "Would you like some coffee?"

"That would be great, thanks. Black please." Bradshaw watched as Matt poured two cups and then led the way out onto the patio.

"Have a seat. I hope you don't mind being out here. My daughter is asleep in my wife's office." He noticed the strange look that Bradshaw was giving him. "She's eight weeks old."

"Oh, okay, that makes more sense." Bradshaw nervously looked around. "Mr. Houston, I asked around and everyone that I've talked to insists that you are the very best."

"Well I appreciate that. What can I do for you?" Matt propped his left ankle on his right knee.

"I believe my wife is trying to kill me." He looked at Matt who had stopped mid-sip.

"Is there any particular reason for you to think that?" Houston took a long swig of coffee.

"She uh, well, I think…" He stalled. "I think she tried to poison me two days ago."

"Uh huh. Can you give me a little more detail?" Setting down the cup of coffee, the PI pulled out a notebook and pen.

"I was rushed to the emergency room after eating some mushroom soup that she made for me – the mushrooms that she used were poisonous."

"Those things can be kind of tricky you know – hard to tell apart. Are you sure it wasn't just an accident?"

"She's been making it for me since we first got married twenty years ago." Bradshaw seemed convinced.

"Alright, does she have any reason to want you dead?" He was watching the prospective client very closely.

"No, not that I can think of…" Somehow he didn't sound too sure.

"Mr. Bradshaw, the only way I can work for you is if you're totally honest with me…is there something that you need to tell me?" After being in the private investigation business for several years as well as in Army Intelligence, Matt was pretty good at telling when someone was lying. "Because I'll tell you something right now: if I don't get the truth out of you in the next ten seconds this meeting is over and you can go find yourself another investigator."

The look of shock that spread across Leonard Bradshaw's face was another tell. "I uh, well a few years ago I had an affair…but that was then. I've been faithful to her ever since."

"And does she believe that?"

"I don't know…maybe not…since she's trying to kill me."

"Other than the mushroom soup, what else has she done?"

"About two weeks ago I was nearly run over by a car in the parking lot at my office." The cup shook in his hand as he spoke.

"And you think she was the one driving?"

"I couldn't tell – the windows had really dark tint on them. It wasn't her car…" The prospective client stood up. "Maybe I shouldn't have come here." Pushing his chair up to the table, Bradshaw turned and started toward the door to the office.

"Have you talked to the police?"

He turned. "Yes, I did after the soup incident. All the officer that I spoke to did was to laugh and say his wife's cooking was terrible, too."

"Are you sure that you aren't leaving something out?" Although he didn't know why, Matt had a feeling that there was more going on than Leonard Bradshaw was letting on to.

"I…damn it!" He sat back down in the chair. "I've been having an affair. It's the same woman that I was seeing before."

"Uh huh. What else?"

"Mr. Houston, I swear to you, that's it. Everything. Dot is so…she's so angry all the time. That's why I went back to Janice. I know it's wrong, but Dot just is so cold. Nothing I do is ever right. From the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to sleep she is constantly complaining about something I did or didn't do."

"Was it like that before you had the first affair?" Taking another sip of coffee, the private eye continued to size up the man seated across from him.

"Yes, that's what drove me into the relationship with Janice in the first place." He removed his glasses and began cleaning them with a handkerchief.

Matt watched him for a moment. "Do they know about each other?"

"Dot only knows that I had an affair, she doesn't know who it was. Janice doesn't even know that I'm married."

"And how do you keep her from finding out – tell her you're going out of town?" Houston had heard this tale before – several times. He didn't usually take cheating spouse cases but technically this one was attempted murder, at least as far as Leonard Bradshaw was concerned.

Bradshaw nodded. "I've got a condo where we meet up sometimes – sometimes we use her place."

"And what do you tell your wife when you don't come home – that you're working late or out of town?"

"Yes…now that I think about it that sounds cliché doesn't it?" He sighed heavily. "Look, I know I've messed up big time, but I don't think I deserve to die because of it."

"Mr. Bradshaw, I'll take your case but you have to understand that there are limitations as to what I can do…there are no guarantees whatsoever. I want you to know that up front. And if I find out that you've lied to me in ANY way I'm off the case. Is that understood?"

"Yes, I understand. I just need help."

"Alright. I'll need some basic information to get started with and then I'll let you talk to my wife about the paperwork. Let's get started."

After Bradshaw met with CJ and signed a contract for their services and left, Matt and CJ sat down in front of BABY, the computer that Matt used in his investigations. They began by pulling up information on Bradshaw himself, his wife Dot, and his mistress – Janice Wheeler.

"Leonard Joseph Bradshaw, age 41, a cost accountant with Weber, Trice, Holbrook, and Cohen for the last seventeen years. He and his wife have been married for twenty years, two boys: Steven and Sean, twins, fourteen years old." CJ punched a few more keys. "Mrs. Dorothy Jane Bradshaw, also 41, works as a hair stylist. She took five years off when the boys were born. Belongs to the PTA."

"Alright, now we have the other woman: Janice Renee Wheeler, age 33, single, no kids. Works as a personal trainer out of three different gyms in the city." She sat back on the couch.

Matt put his arm around her shoulders. "So no records or scandals – publicly anyway." He got up and walked over to the windows that overlooked the skyline of Los Angeles. "I believe we're going to need to use some critters on this one. We need to put one on both of the ladies' cars, and put a camera or two in Bradshaw's house, his condo, and Wheeler's apartment."

"I thought you said the wife was the one he suspected; why plant critters at Janice's place and car?" She got up and went behind the bar to pour a cup of coffee.

"Just to be thorough. If she knows he's having an affair, she might try to get to him there – and possibly the other woman, too." Matt turned back around. "I asked him for his wife's schedule as well as Wheeler's. They both leave for work by 7:00am, so I'll plant the critters on the cars during the night and then take care of the others during the daytime. I'm going to meet with him to plant them in the house and the apartments – that way I won't have to worry about alarms or nosy neighbors."

"So you're going to start tonight then?"

"Yep, that's my plan." He walked toward the bar until he heard his daughter beginning to fuss. "I believe Sleeping Beauty just woke up." Going into CJ's office he picked up his daughter out of the playpen. "Hey there Lady Bug. You've got wet drawers. Let's go take care of that." Catey Rose quit fussing and started cooing as soon as her daddy picked her up and started talking. As he headed down to the nursery, Matt started singing to her, a silly song about a flying purple people eater, and CJ cracked up.

Since they had finished up the other work that they had on tap and wouldn't be starting on the Bradshaw case until that night, the Houstons headed home for the afternoon. Matt spent the rest of the day working cattle with his two ranch hands, Lamar and Bo.

When the alarm clock went off at 2:00am, Matt groaned. The thought of having to leave the comfortable bed and CJ, who was half laying across him, was not welcomed. He carefully slid out from under his wife, giving her one of his pillows to lie on instead. Kissing her gently on the cheek, he put on the clothes that he had laid out before going to bed. He quickly scrawled a note. They had an unspoken rule: you always say goodbye when you leave.

**HEY BABE,**

**GONE TO PLANT CRITTERS. SEE YOU AT THE OFFICE LATER.**

**LOVE,**

**MATT**

As he walked through the kitchen, he poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot that he had set to brew half an hour before his alarm clock went off. After popping the top on the travel mug, he headed out the door and slid behind the wheel of his truck. The critters were already in the console and ready to be planted on the cars.

A short time later, the private investigator stopped outside the parking garage of Janice Wheeler's apartment and quietly slipped inside, putting the tracking device on the trainer's car and slipping back out without being noticed. Next on his list was Dorothy Bradshaw's car. He pulled into the curb in front of the accountant's house and quickly placed the tracker on Mrs. Bradshaw's vehicle, then pulled away from the curb and went to the office. He activated the critters once there and then stretched out on the couch for a nap. He awoke to the alarm on his phone at 7:30 and got up to make a pot of coffee.

Chris came in just before 8:00 as did CJ. The pair found Matt sitting on one of the barstools, his head on the bar and a cup of coffee in his hand, snoring. CJ set down Catey Rose and her carrier before moving over to begin lightly kissing Matt's right ear. After a couple of tries he moaned, then giggled, and finally woke up enough to realize where he was and who was watching. Chris burst into laughter and the private eye gave CJ the raised eyebrow look.

"You sure did look cute sucking your thumb, Boss." CJ leaned down and gave him another kiss – this one on the lips.

"Uh huh, I bet." He pulled her in closer and kissed her back before looking down at their daughter. "So how's my Lady Bug this morning?"

"Hungry. I swear she eats more than any baby I've ever seen." CJ watched as Matt leaned over and pulled his daughter out of the carrier.

"That's 'cause she's a hard working baby. Ain't that right, Catey?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek, receiving a big smile from the now eight week old.

"How did it go?" CJ poured herself and Chris coffee and then headed for her office with Matt and Catey following along.

"Smooth as a baby's butt." He plopped down on the loveseat holding his daughter and began tickling her chin and talking to her. "I'm supposed to meet Bradshaw at 9:00 to plant the rest of the critters. He has a key to Janice Wheeler's apartment."

"That sure makes your life easier." CJ turned on the computer monitor.

"Guess I better go check on the critters. Are you going to help?" He took Catey with him and sat down on the couch, pulling up BABY the computer. "Okay, Miss Catey Rose – look here: see that dot right there? That's Dorothy Bradshaw's car and it looks like she's at work. And this…" he tapped a couple more keys, "this right here is Janice Wheeler's car. She's at the Platinum Gym on Wilshire, see?"

CJ stuck her head out of her office and watched as Matt talked to Catey about the job. Chris came walking in and grinned at CJ as her boss explained that the critters would tell her and Daddy just where the cars went.

"Maybe one day she'll be running the whole operation." Chris laughed as she headed for CJ with a couple of papers that needed to be signed.

"Nah, she'll do something else. Maybe she'll be the president." Matt stood up and walked out on the patio with the baby.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?" Leonard Bradshaw nervously looked around as he opened the door to Janice Wheeler's apartment.

"Well, if she should try to get you here – or Miss Wheeler for that matter – wouldn't you like to know?" Matt looked around the apartment. He put one of the tiny cameras in the living room, one in the kitchen, and headed back to the bedroom.

"You're not going to put one in there, surely?" Bradshaw was so flabbergasted Matt had to work really hard not to laugh.

"Yep, what if she tried to plant a bomb or something in here?" He found an inconspicuous spot on the ceiling fan over the bed and straightened the bedspread as he stepped down, making sure that everything looked just as it had when he had walked through the door. "Okay, we're done."

"So do I need to contact you or how does this work?" The nervous accountant reminded Matt just slightly of Murray Chase, the CEO of Houston Industries. But there was a big difference: Murray would have never been dumb enough to have a wife and a mistress.

"Nope, not unless something else happens. I'll monitor the situation and let you know if anything develops." Matt waited for Bradshaw to exit the front door, then stepped out and headed on down to his truck. He activated the critters on the laptop in his truck and was satisfied with the placement. Pulling out of the parking lot, he caught a glimpse of the accountant heading out of the other driveway. Matt wasn't afraid that the woman would be able to spot the cameras, but the fact that Bradshaw was so nervous he might give away their location was a bigger threat. The accountant hadn't seen where Matt had planted the ones at his home or his condo thanks to a little trickiness on Matt's part and a well-timed phone call from someone. That was why he headed toward the office, then doubled back and went back into the apartment and moved the cameras to different spots. A well-placed piece of chewing gum had assured him a quick and easy re-entry into the apartment. The private eye removed the gum as he left the apartment the second time and then headed to the office for real.

"Just a minute – here he is." Chris handed the phone to her boss. "It's Captain Holt."

"Hey Cap, how ya doing?" Matt had recently met Capt. Rich Holt while working on a case involving the arson of a wedding chapel: the very wedding chapel that his secretary Chris Atwater and Murray Chase had reserved for their wedding. Holt had applied for a job with the Fire Marshal's office and had asked Matt if he would be willing to act as a consultant for that department, much as he did for the LAPD. The last time they had talked, the captain was going to speak with his boss and try to get approval.

"Pretty good. Would you be able to come down here and speak with the boss? I've asked him about adding you on as a consultant and he would like to meet with you and talk."

"Yeah, I can do that. What time?" Matt checked his watch it was almost 10:15.

"When can you get here?" Holt chuckled. He wasn't one who liked waiting around.

"How does twenty minutes or so sound?"

"I'll tell him. See you in a few." Rich hung up the phone and looked over at his boss. "He's on the way."

Matt stuck his head in CJ's office. "Babe, can you keep an eye on the critters? The Fire Marshal wants to meet with me about the consultant deal."

"Sure." She got up and met him halfway across the room, giving him a hug and then the pair shared a kiss. "Knock 'em dead, hon."

"Nah, I'll just try to impress 'em." He grinned. "Love you, Babe."

"Love you." She watched as he headed off to the elevator and disappeared.

After arriving at the Main Street office quicker than he had intended, Matt was met in the reception area by Holt and ushered into the office of Don MacLemore, the head of the Fire Marshal's office. "Mr. Houston, Rich here has been telling me how you helped to solve an arson case a few weeks ago – and gave him a nudge in this direction." MacLemore smiled. "Thanks for that by the way."

"I can't take all the credit on that case, sir: he was just as involved in it as anyone else. In fact, he was the one that figured out how the fire was started. My wife and I worked with Lt. Hoyt of the LAPD on the rest of it."

"I've spoken with Lt. Hoyt as well as the Chief of Police. Both of them speak well of you. But I do have some concerns."

"Alright."

"Your expertise as an investigator is not in question here, Mr. Houston. But the fact that you don't have training in the fire service raises some questions as to how you would be able to contribute."

"I can understand that."

"Rich has suggested that you complete some classes in Fire Technology that would help you to determine the causes of fires and help you understand more about how arsonists work."

"Okay, that sounds logical. When he approached me with the idea of becoming a consultant to your office I had the same concerns." Matt leaned back in the chair.

"I believe your exact words were 'I don't really know anything about fires – other than they are a real pain in a hay barn and they're good for toasting marshmallows'." Rich grinned thinking back to their last meeting and the Fire Marshal got a good chuckle out of it.

"So you would be willing to undergo training?" MacLemore leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk.

"I think it would be incredibly stupid of me not to get some training. You don't train a horse if you don't know how to saddle it."

"Well said. Alright, Mr. Houston; I think you would be a great asset to this department, but the training will have to come first. I'm putting Rich in charge of that – and I expect you to do well or this consultant job will not happen."

"If I didn't do well I wouldn't want the job, sir." Matt stood up and shook hands with MacLemore and then he and Rich left together to discuss what classes he needed to take.

Back at the office, CJ was sitting in front of BABY the computer watching the feed from the critter cameras that Matt had planted as well as keeping an eye on the tracking devices he had attached to both Mrs. Bradshaw's and Janice Wheeler's cars. At 10:45, she noticed that Dorothy Bradshaw was on the move as was Janice Wheeler. Bradshaw made a stop at Comet Coffee and then went to the walking trail on the east side of Silver Lake Park. Wheeler also went to Silver Lake Park, but was on the south side. "Very interesting." Both women were there for about an hour, and left within five minutes of each other.

Matt stepped off of the elevator whistling when he got back and headed on in to join CJ on the couch, putting his arm around her and nuzzling her ear while asking, "What would you think about being married to a college student?"

CJ turned her head and kissed him. "There's your answer."

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Matt's eyes had a mischievous twinkle in them. After she repeated the kiss he grinned. "I thought that was what you said. I'm going to be taking some fire technology classes this fall."

"Uh huh. So I take it that your meeting went well?"

"As long as I do well in my classes I've got the gig."

"Congratulations." She kissed him again. "Now – back to your current gig. I think we've either got the world's largest coincidence or Janice and Dorothy know about each other."

"Oh, how so?" Matt got back to business as his wife explained how both women had been to the park at the same time. "Hmmm…that is interesting. We may have to add some surveillance to this case – other than the critters." He thought for a minute. "You know, if they do know about each other…" Matt stopped. "Bradshaw said that two weeks ago someone tried to run him down in the parking lot. Then a couple of days ago his wife gave him the bad mushroom soup…" He got up and walked over to the bar to pour a cup of coffee. "CJ, if your husband was to cheat on you and you found out about it, what would you do?"

"You better not – you sure won't like the results." She knew he would never do such a thing.

"But if it happened and you found out that the other woman hadn't known about you at all, you probably wouldn't be mad at her now would you?" He poured another cup for CJ and walked back, stepping over the couch as she thought about it.

"I might go into cahoots with her to do you in." She grinned at Matt.

"Exactly. But I swear to you I would never do that…you do know that, right?" He was completely serious.

"Yes, hon, I know. You've made it perfectly clear." She kissed him on the cheek.

"So what if they are in cahoots?" He sipped coffee and thought about the situation.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Okay Mattlock, I've got eyes on her." Roy Houston, Matt's uncle, was keeping an eye on Dorothy Bradshaw who had just walked out of the hair salon where she worked. The two men were talking on their cell phones.

"And Wheeler just came out of the gym and is heading for her car. Here we go." Matt hit the speaker button on his phone and set it on the console as he started the truck and dropped it into gear. He was four car lengths behind Janice Wheeler. "We're headed west on Olympic."

"Looks like Mrs. Bradshaw is headed toward…no, wait a minute. She just changed into the turn lane and…we are now headed east on Olympic. Why do I get the feeling we're about to see each other in a few minutes?" Roy chuckled. "Looks like CJ was right, boy."

"She usually is. Look if we end up at Wheeler's apartment I'll come to your car. I'm going to try to keep them from seeing my truck. I'm also about to call Leonard Bradshaw and tell him what's going on and make sure he doesn't show up there as well…or we might have to call Hoyt to a crime scene. I'll talk to you in a few minutes." He hung up and dialed Bradshaw. "Mr. Bradshaw, Matt Houston. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at my office. Why?" Bradshaw got up and closed the door to the outer office.

"What are your plans for this evening?" Matt continued to follow Janice Wheeler who appeared to be headed home.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Possibly. Are you sure that your wife and Miss Wheeler don't know about each other? Because we have reason to believe that they met up earlier today and it looks like both of them are headed to Miss Wheeler's apartment right now."

"WHAT?!" The accountant let out a screech. "That can't be, Mr. Houston. Dorothy told me that she had to work late tonight – a client wanted a permanent and….oh, my God!" The reality finally sunk in. "She's lying to me?"

"I believe so. I think it's best that you stay put for right now." Matt couldn't help but grin. Evidently Bradshaw didn't think that his wife should lie to him after what he had already done to her. "I'll call you when I know more." He hung up and his phone immediately rang. "Yeah, Uncle Roy?"

"She just pulled into the lot and is waiting. I'm going to circle the block." The former CIA agent turned the corner and began going down Eighth Street.

"Alright – Wheeler is almost there. I'm going to make sure she turns in and then park on the side street. I'll catch up with you in the parking lot." He hung up again. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, Janice pulled into the parking garage of the apartment complex and Matt circled around on the side street. Once parked, he picked up the carrying case that his laptop was in and got out, walking towards the parking lot in front of the building where he spotted his uncle's car. Matt slid inside and opened up the laptop. He went to the camera that was placed in the living room. "Oh boy….Leonard is going to be surprised for sure."

Roy was looking, too. "You know, this reminds me of something that happened when I was stationed in Finland for a while. There were these two…"

"Whoa, Nelly!" Matt couldn't believe his eyes. "Well we can say without a doubt that they know each other…" He watched a little more. "Very well, I might add." The younger Houston blew out a breath. "Leonard is gonna poop a gold brick over this."

Roy chuckled. "I guess his wife figured what was good for the goose was good for the gander…or vice versa."

"You know, I shouldn't have taken this case, Uncle Roy. I try to avoid things like this. But this is not what I expected at all. I just thought his wife was trying to kill him."

"If he was to see this, she wouldn't have to try too hard." Roy whistled. "And I see you put one in the bedroom as well. Thorough job there, Matt." He snickered.

"You're enjoying this way too much, Uncle Roy." Matt cut his eyes over at the man and couldn't help but snicker. His phone rang. "Uh oh, it's CJ." Roy burst into laughter as his nephew hit the speaker button and answered.

"Hi, Babe." Matt's voice cracked a little bit, sending his uncle into another fit of laughter – as well as his wife.

"So you're seeing what I'm seeing. Good thing your daughter is too little to know what's going on – she's having a bottle right now." She giggled. "I thought we didn't take cheating spouse cases, Matt?"

"Shut up, CJ. That wasn't what was going on when I agreed to … oh, hell." The private investigator handed the computer over to his uncle and got out of the car running across the parking lot, leaving his phone on the seat that he had just vacated.

"What happened, Uncle Roy?" CJ didn't see any change on the monitors.

"I believe his client just showed up after Matt told him not to leave his office."

"That's not good." She waited.

"Okay, he intercepted him before he got in the front door. He's walking him back to his car." There was a long pause. "And he's driving off."

CJ could hear as Matt got back into his uncle's car. "Remind me to never take another case like this again."

"Hey Matt: don't take another case like this again." She snickered.

"I'll deal with you later. Did I miss anything? That didn't come out right."

Roy started laughing again and CJ heard Matt sigh heavily. "No, nothing major. Look, I'm going to take Catey downstairs for a diaper change. Can you boys handle this?" She snickered again.

"I'll keep an eye on him for you." Roy patted Matt on the head and received a growl in return.

"Talk to you later, Babe." He hung up the phone.

"So what did you tell your client?" Roy continued to watch the feed from the tiny cameras.

"I told him that if he went in there now it might blow our chances of catching her in the act." He sighed as his uncle started laughing again. "I MEANT IN THE ACT OF COMMITTING MURDER, UNCLE ROY!"

"Say it a little louder, sonny – I don't think they heard you in China." He looked at his nephew. "I know what you meant."

"You really are an old pervert, you know that?" Matt shook his head. A minute later he began laughing.

"What?"

"Can you imagine what would happen if Hoyt was here right now?" Both men burst into laughter.

An hour later Dorothy Bradshaw left the apartment, Matt went back to his truck and to the office, and Roy left following the hairdresser. Just as Matt pulled into the parking garage at his office his phone rang. "Whatcha got, Uncle Roy?"

"She's home, but your client isn't."

"Hang on." Matt opened up the laptop and looked at the tracking device that he had put on Leonard Bradshaw's car a short time before when he had sent him away from Janice Wheeler's apartment. "He is…at a bar on La Brea. Guess I better go meet up with him and tell him what we've got."

"Good luck, Matt. Call me if you need me." Roy put his car in drive and pulled away from the curb headed for his own house.

"I will. Thanks a lot." The private eye ended the call and dialed CJ to let her know where he would be. "Hey Babe, I'm going to go meet up with Bradshaw. He's at a bar on La Brea. Guess I'll see you at home."

"Okay hon, be careful. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." He hung up and pulled out of the garage and headed to the bar where he found Bradshaw nursing a double scotch on the rocks. He slid onto a barstool next to the accountant and ordered a beer. "We need to talk."

The accountant nodded and Matt got the impression that the drink the man was working on was not his first – or his second. They moved to a booth at the back of the bar. "So – what happened?" Bradshaw looked like a steer going to slaughter.

Matt took a long swig of beer and then a deep breath. "Mr. Bradshaw, they…" He looked the man right in the eye. "They obviously know each other…they were uh, well they were having sex."

Bradshaw closed his eyes and shook his head. "How long has this been going on?"

"I have no idea. Look, I know you told me that you and your wife have been having problems for years. Maybe…maybe you ought to just get a lawyer and get a divorce." He genuinely felt sorry for Bradshaw, but the thought kept going through his mind that the man had set himself up by cheating on his wife in the first place. "Look, maybe you should go to your apartment tonight. I don't think being around each other right now would be the best thing. If you want to try to save your marriage, look into counseling. As far as your wife trying to kill you…I don't know, I don't have any proof of that. I suggest you talk to a lawyer for some advice on your choices at this point." The man nodded his head but didn't say a word. "How about you catch a cab…I don't really think you need to be driving tonight."

"Mr. Houston, I…thank you. You've gone to a lot trouble over this. Just send me a bill, would you?" He got up and slowly walked out of the bar.

Matt took one more swig of the beer and then followed him outside and saw him get into a cab. Climbing into his truck, the private eye thanked his lucky stars that he and CJ were together.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Two days later, Matt was rounding up strays in the canyons on the backside of the ranch along with Bo and Lamar. The three men were making their way back down toward the lower pastures, herding the cattle along when Matt's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. "Yeah, Babe." He climbed down off of Cricket.

"Hon, Michael just called. He's been trying to reach you for almost half an hour."

"Well the signal isn't always real strong in these canyons. What's going on?" He took a drink of water and wiped the sweat off of his brow.

"Leonard Bradshaw is dead. Michael found your card and the bill from the agency. I told him about the case and he wants to talk to you."

"Okay, tell him I'm going to ride in and I'll take the chopper to the office. Ask him to meet me there, will you?" He swung back up on his horse.

"Okay. Be careful. Love you."

"Love you, Babe. 'Bye." He hung up, explained to his two ranch hands what was going on and took off at a gallop for the helicopter that was sitting in the pasture next to the barn. He had used it that morning to spot the strays.

After taking off Cricket's saddle, he shooed her and the rest of the horses away before climbing into the chopper and taking off for his office, a fifteen minute flight on most days that he turned into a ten minute flight. When he landed on the patio at the office, Hoyt was standing in the doorway waiting for him.

"So what happened to him?" Matt had ducked and run to the doorway as the speed of the blades' rotations began to slow down.

"That's a good question." Hoyt led the way to the elevator. "We know he's been shot, but the coroner thinks there might be something else going on as well. What can you tell me about Bradshaw?" The detective pushed the button.

"Well, he came to me a couple of days ago. He believed his wife had tried to kill him with some mushroom soup and two weeks earlier someone had tried to run him down in the parking lot at his office." The two men stepped onboard the elevator and began the descent to the parking garage. "But what we found was that uh…well, the two women knew each other…" Matt nodded his head hoping Michael would understand what he meant.

"And?" The cop stepped out of the elevator and opened the door to his car.

Matt slid into the car. "They knew each other extremely well…aw hell; we caught 'em having sex." Matt turned his head and the look on the cop's face was priceless.

"Ooookay….I swear, you private eyes are just about the low…" He was interrupted.

"Nah unh, don't go there. When I took the case the man thought his wife was trying to kill him."

"Well, it looks like she might have done just that. But now that you tell me about the other woman, I'm starting to wonder if they were in on it together."

"That's what CJ and I were thinking the other day right before it all hit the fan."

They pulled up to the condo of the accountant where there were still two patrol cars, the coroner's van, as well as a vehicle from the CSI lab. Cheryl Crawford was standing at the back of the SUV retrieving some of her equipment as the two men pulled up. The tech got a big smile on her face as they walked over toward her. "Stop right there for a second, Houston." The puzzled PI stopped in his tracks. "Now smile."

"Huh?"

"Smile." The tech snapped his picture and started laughing as Michael rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that."

"For what?"

"The outfit." The tech picked up a case in each hand and started for the house laughing as she went. Several chuckles could be heard from the cops guarding the perimeter. Matt looked down: he had forgotten that he was wearing jeans and chaps when he got the phone call from Hoyt.

"Aw hell!" He shook his head and started for the house, Hoyt following along behind still snickering.

"Shut up, cop." He put on the pair of paper shoe covers that Cheryl handed him outside the front door.

"Wouldn't want you tracking cow patties inside." She grinned at the private eye.

"I used to think you were a nice person, Cheryl." Matt grumbled as he made his way through the living room and into the kitchen. The coroner's assistant was standing beside the body filling out some paperwork on his clipboard when he looked up and started laughing. Matt shot him a look and the man quickly clammed up.

The private eye knelt down next to the body that was in front of the sliding glass door that led out onto a small patio. "Okay I'm seeing about fifteen shots here. Two in the head the rest all over the torso." He looked up at the coroner's assistant who quickly wiped a smile off of his face and nodded. "Okay, I understand the blood coming out of his mouth but that's a lot of foam there. What's up with that?"

"That's a good question. I know it sounds crazy, but it looks like he's been poisoned."

"No, that's not crazy at all." Matt stood back up and looked around the kitchen. "Got a pair of gloves on you?" Cheryl handed him a pair. Looking before he stepped, Matt headed over to the refrigerator and opened it, finding a mostly empty crock of what appeared to be mushroom soup with a note taped to the side that read:

**Your favorite!**

**Love, **

**Dorothy**

"You're definitely gonna want to bag and tag this, Cheryl." He indicated the crock. The private investigator stepped away from the refrigerator as the tech moved in to gather the evidence. "Hoyt, we need to find out about his trip to the ER the other day."

"I've got that on my list." Michael put his notebook back in his pocket.

"So there was no forced entry on the front door. Have you looked at this one yet?" He walked over to the sliding glass door and Hoyt followed.

"No sign there as well. This is how he was found by the way. The neighbor's kid was chasing a ball that rolled onto the patio and saw him. The mother called it in."

"Have you talked to the neighbors yet?" Matt turned and started back through the condo and headed upstairs to the bedroom and looked around in there.

"Not yet. As soon as I found your card and the bill I called you." The veteran cop went into the bathroom and began looking through the medicine cabinet and closet. "He definitely had a lady staying here."

Matt walked in and saw the toiletries that Michael was pointing at. "That's probably Janice Wheeler's. The wife supposedly didn't know about this place." He turned and went down the short hallway to the second bedroom. "Looks like this was his home office." Matt went over to the desk and opened the laptop, then got past the feeble security attempts, and started going through the files. After sorting through some of the information he shook his head. "I don't think we're going to find much…wait a minute…oh, that's just real handy. It's a list of his passwords. Okay…" The private investigator went online and opened the accountant's email account. "It seems that Bradshaw tried really hard to compartmentalize his life: there's one account where he receives stuff from his wife, one for Janice, and another for business."

"Anything interesting in the emails?" Hoyt was looking over the PI's shoulder.

"Well, this one here from his wife was from about eight days ago. Hmmm…he didn't tell me that she had already threatened a divorce." He continued through the emails, checking the spam, trash, and other folders. "Nothing else there really. Now let's see about the mistress." He switched to the other account. "Uh huh, the same day his wife threatened the divorce he got a nasty email from Janice. Look." He pointed to the screen.

"Looks like she was ticked off about their time together the night before and she's tired of him going out of town all the time – which actually translates into being at home with the wife and kids. Umph."

"Betcha five bucks that's when the wife found out about the mistress – and then approached her." He looked through the rest of the emails, then the other files on the computer. "Not really much here." Turning off the laptop, he stood up and stretched. "You know, I haven't gone back and picked up those cameras yet, and I haven't removed the ones here either. Are you done here?"

"Yeah, I don't think anything else is going to present itself." Hoyt started for the door.

"Alright, I think we better talk to the neighbors and then let's go back to my office and take a look at the critter cams. Maybe it will give us a nudge in the right direction – or offer up a little proof." Matt followed Hoyt back downstairs and waited while the lieutenant told Cheryl about the finds upstairs and finished up.

"I thought we should start with the lady that called it in – Margie Osterman. Her son was the one who found him." Hoyt led the way next door. When a still upset Margie Osterman answered the door, she looked stunned for a minute and then began fixing her hair and blushing. Hoyt looked at Matt and rolled his eyes. "Ms. Osterman, I'm Lt. Hoyt, LAPD, and this is Matt Houston, a consultant to the department. We'd like to ask you some questions about Mr. Bradshaw – if you're not too upset." The last was said with a bit of sarcasm.

"No, I don't mind. Come on in please." She opened the door. "Would you gentlemen like something to drink? Coffee, tea?"

"I could use some coffee, please." Matt gave her a smile and the woman giggled and headed off for the kitchen.

Hoyt turned to Matt. "Disgusting, absolutely disgusting."

"I didn't do anything!" Matt whispered.

"Humph. You didn't have to – the chaps did."

"Want a pair for Christmas?" The cowboy snickered as Ms. Osterman returned from the kitchen.

"I hope I was right – black?" She beamed at him.

"Yes ma'am, thank you." Matt followed her into the living room where a boy was sitting cross-legged on the floor playing video games. He turned and looked at Matt with surprise.

"Wow! Are you a REAL cowboy?" He dropped the game controller and stood in front of Matt.

"Yep, part of the time. And part of the time I help the police – like Lt. Hoyt here." He pointed to the cop sitting next to him.

"Where's your hat?"

"I left it in my helicopter."

"You have a helicopter? WOW!"

"Uh huh, but you know what? He's got a badge." He pointed at Hoyt again. The boy looked at him for a fleeting second and went back to quizzing Matt.

"Where's your horse?"

"At my ranch."

"How old are you?"

"Nuh unh – you first."

"I'm seven."

"I'm thirty four."

"I'm forty, now can we please get to work here?" Hoyt had reached the limit of his patience with the inquiry.

"Tell you what Michael, why don't you talk to Ms. Osterman here, and me and…what's your name?"

"Matt."

"Me, too." Houston grinned at him. "Matt and I will talk about his part of it." He looked at a somewhat disappointed Ms. Osterman. "Is it okay if we sit on the front porch?"

"Uh, yeah sure."

The pair walked out and sat on the front steps. Matt sat down and drank coffee for a minute, allowing the boy a chance to tell him what he had seen. After nothing was said, the private investigator looked over at the boy. "So, you were the one that found Mr. Bradshaw, huh?"

"Yep."

Matt nodded. "Kinda gross, huh?"

"Yep."

"Didja see anybody else around there when you went to get the ball?"

"Nuh unh." He looked around for a minute. "Mr. Bradshaw was kinda weird. He wasn't there very much, usually at night. And he usually had some lady with him. When my friends and I would play soccer in the back yard the ball would roll down the hill and into his yard. If he saw us trying to get it he would yell at us."

"Kind of a jerk."

"Yep."

"Did you ever hear him arguing with anyone down there?"

"Nope."

"Got anything else to add?"

"Nope." The boy looked up at Matt. "Got a picture of your horse?"

"Yep." Matt pulled out his phone and showed him a picture himself and Catey riding on Cricket.

"Is that your kid?"

"Yep. She's eight weeks old now." Matt put his phone back in his shirt pocket. "Guess I better go check on my friend. Thanks for your help." He pulled out his wallet and handed one of his business cards to the kid. "If you think of something else call me. Okay?"

"Sure." He followed as the private eye stood up and opened the door and the pair went back inside. Hoyt was being given the long version of what the boy had already told Matt.

"Wanna play?" The kid looked at Matt who grinned.

"Sure. Have you found the surprise on level twelve yet?" He sat down in the floor.

"What surprise?"

"This one right here." Matt showed him the secret passageway into the control center of the alien headquarters.

"How did you know about that?"

"'Cause I helped design the game."

"No way."

"Got the case?" The boy scrambled for the entertainment center and came back with the case. "See, right there." Matt pointed to his name on the credits.

"WOW! This is an awesome game. Cool!"

"If you're done playing games we've got more neighbors to talk to, Houston." Hoyt was standing ready to head for the door.

"Okay." The private eye handed the case back to the boy. "Make sure you check out level nineteen real good, too." He winked at the kid and headed toward the front door, thanking Ms. Osterman for the coffee.

After interviewing more of the neighbors, most of whom had never even laid eyes on the man, they then headed up to Matt's office and plopped down in front of BABY to see what else had been going on.

"You know, I've been wondering something. When do you go back and pick up all the critters that you put out?" Hoyt leaned back on the couch and looked over at his friend.

"Well, I've lost a few of 'em, but I usually try to go get them after things have calmed down a little bit. So far it hasn't been a problem." Matt pulled up the video surveillance. "I'll skip over the uh, well the part I told you about earlier."

"Thanks for that." Hoyt chuckled.

"Nothing was said about Bradshaw at all during this whole time. What I'm wondering is what they discussed at the park? We don't have actual proof that they met up there, but I'm willing to bet they did."

"Most likely. Okay, when is this from?" Hoyt leaned forward to look at the time stamp on the bottom of the image.

"That was Tuesday night, right after their little tryst." Matt turned up the volume as they could see Janice Wheeler sit down on the bed while talking on the phone. After a minute or so of listening, the two detectives surmised that the trainer was talking to Dorothy Bradshaw who evidently told her that Leonard hadn't come home.

"I think we should try again. Know what they say – the third time's the charm." Janice laughed. Matt and Hoyt exchanged a glance. "Okay, think about it…. You too. 'Bye."

As the two detectives watched the rest of the feed from Janice Wheeler's apartment they didn't see or hear anything else that they could use. "Alright, let's check out the feed from the Bradshaw home." Matt punched a few keys and up popped the feed. There wasn't any activity in the home at all until the boys got home just before 4:00PM. After a tussle in the kitchen over the last of the cheese doodles, the pair settled down in front of the game console and didn't budge again until they heard their mother pull in the driveway. The rest of the evening was normal family happenings except for the phone call that Dorothy had made to Janice. Now the two detectives were getting to hear the other side of the conversation.

"He's not even home yet, the weasel." Dorothy threw her shoes in the closet and began brushing her hair. "He can't even get killed right." There was a pause as she listened to Janet's reply. "We're going to have to come up with another plan. I can't put up with him for much longer…Have a good night…..'Bye."

Hoyt and Matt exchanged looks as the call ended. Then the private eye pulled up the surveillance of Janice Wheeler and synced it to the feed from Dorothy Bradshaw and the conversation became crystal clear. As they listened to the complete conversation, Matt copied it onto a flash drive and also printed out a transcript. "Do you think it's enough to make it stick?" The lanky PI leaned back on the couch.

"I don't know. I'll have to run it by the DA…but with all the political posturing I have a feeling he would probably take a pass on it." Hoyt blew out a breath and looked at his watch. "I believe we're done for the day."

Matt closed up the computer and gave the flash drive and transcript to the cop. "Maybe we ought to just keep mum about this until the ME finishes with Bradshaw. Something just doesn't feel right about the whole deal."

"Maybe the ME won't drag his feet on this one. I swear, I know they are overloaded just like we are, but some of the mistakes that have been made lately are inexcusable."

"Yep." Matt knew of three cases that had to be dropped because of faulty work on the part of the ME's office. "Give Anne and Kathy my best."

"Thanks for your help, Houston. Tell CJ and Catey hello for me." The two men parted ways: Michael to the parking garage to reclaim his car and Matt out onto the patio to take the helicopter back to the ranch.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Later that evening after taking Catey for a ride on Cricket, giving her a bath and the last bottle of the day, Matt grabbed a shower. He put on a pair of shorts and walked out onto the patio with a couple of beers, setting one in front of his wife. "Wow! Great service. Thanks." He pulled a chair over next to her, cracked open the beer and took a long swig while putting his arm around her. Propping his feet up in another chair, the private eye leaned back and looked up at the sunset.

"It doesn't make sense." He took another swig of beer.

"What doesn't?"

"First off, what was Leonard Bradshaw doing with a woman like Janice Wheeler? Not to be mean, but he would never be mistaken for a body builder, he was kind of doughy, and he had a big bald spot."

"True. But you know what they say – opposites attract."

"Well obviously that isn't always true – you and I are more alike than we are different."

"True again – but not everybody can have the luxury of knowing their spouse for twenty five years before they get married."

"Luxury, huh? I thought you wanted us to be together a long time ago?" Matt's mischievous smile and the twinkle in his eye told her that he was only teasing.

Popping him on the back of the head she stuck out her tongue at him. "You know what I mean – normal people. We are FAR from normal."

"That's true. But you know something else that I wondered about? That big crock of mushroom soup with the note from his wife? If she was so pissed at him and wanted a divorce, why in the hell did she make it? And here's another: why would it be in the refrigerator of his condo that she supposedly knew nothing about? It just doesn't add up."

"Uh huh. Stinks to high heaven." CJ took a sip of the beer. "I believe there's a lot more to this case than meets the eye."

"Yep." Matt stood up and took a swallow of beer. "I'm going for a swim." He walked to the end of the pool, dove in, and began doing laps.

The next morning, as he drove into the office and was thinking over the Bradshaw case, Matt punched Hoyt's cell number on his phone, hit the speaker button, and put it on the console.

"Hey, Houston." Hoyt didn't sound too thrilled…but then Hoyt never sounded too thrilled.

"I've got a couple of questions for you. Number one: Bradshaw was not an Adonis so why was Janice Wheeler so interested in him? And number two: why would a crock of soup that his supposedly pissed-off wife made for him have a note on it saying "Love, Dorothy"? And what in the hell was it doing at a condo that she didn't know anything about?"

"I had wondered about the first one and the second one. Missed the third." Hoyt sat back in his office chair and swallowed coffee. "There's definitely something weird going on. Where are you?"

"On my way in. I'm just going to come over there so we can hash this out."

"Okay by me. See ya."

"'Bye." Matt hung up and continued to ponder the case as he worked his way through the morning traffic. As he pulled into the parking garage, an idea hit him. Skipping the elevator and heading straight up the stairs, he walked into Hoyt's office and hit him with the thought. "What if Janice and Dorothy already knew each other? Before Leonard got pulled into the picture?"

Hoyt sat with a shocked look on his face. "Yeah, that would kinda make sense."

"If you had seen them Tuesday…" The private investigator plopped down on the couch and propped his boots up on the coffee table. "Thinking back on it, they obviously knew each other very well."

"And how do you…oh, that's how." Hoyt's shocked face was enough to make Matt snicker.

"Well, you didn't see that part of the feed, and I was so surprised at the time that it didn't occur to me. They obviously knew each other's likes and dislikes, ya know? Everybody has their own little …things that turn them on. Like…"

"No, please. I don't want to know." The cop got up and went to the outer office for coffee bringing Matt a cup back as well. "I understand what you mean. You don't have to explain."

The private eye chuckled. "Okay, I'm going to keep monitoring the cameras that I have installed…" He stopped mid-sentence. "We didn't check the feed from Bradshaw's condo."

"No we didn't." Without another word, the two detectives got up and headed for the elevator. "You're slipping PI. Why didn't you remember that sooner? Must be old age catching up with you."

"My old age? You're the one who didn't figure out about the girls' likes. And I'm the one who remembered the feed. Besides…" Matt stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button. "You are considerably older than me."

"Considerably? I'm only…" He stopped for a minute.

"You're forty, Michael." Matt gave him a patronizing look.

"I know how old I am! You…" Hoyt swatted at him.

"Police brutality! Police brutality!" Matt ducked as Hoyt attempted to pop him on the back of the head.

"Get out! Now! I swear…" The cop punched Matt in the arm. "Now I understand why Novelli moved to Hawaii."

"Yeah, he didn't want the abuse that you like to dish out." Matt rubbed his arm. "Not too bad for an old guy, I gotta give it to you."

"If you weren't so damn good at what you do…" Michael shook his head and then started laughing.

"Yeah, that's what they all say…" The PI stuck his nose in the air and puffed out his chest before sliding into his truck and heading to his office. When he and Michael stepped off of the elevator together still punching and teasing each other, CJ and Chris, along with Catey Rose, just watched.

"Are you boys planning on getting some work done today or do I need to find a daycare for you?" The lawyer popped her hand on her hip.

"Naw, I'm good…but Gramps here might need one." Matt took off running up the stairs into his office, Michael hot on his heels.

"They're in good form today." Chris giggled as she heard the smack when Hoyt caught up to her boss.

"CJ! File a police brutality law suit against this goon, will ya?" Houston broke down into a fit of laughter.

"You two get to work…don't make me come in there." CJ rolled her eyes at Chris as she and Catey headed into her office. She could hear the pair snickering and then get quiet as the surveillance feed started playing.

The condo was quiet until Leonard Bradshaw showed up about 7:30, after Matt had seen him at the bar. He went into the kitchen and opened a bottle of whiskey, first pouring himself a drink in a glass, then uttering the phrase, "What the hell," and then drinking straight from the bottle. He went into the living room, plopped down in a chair and drank over half of the bottle of alcohol.

"I'm surprised he made it through that…he was pretty sloshed at the bar." Matt thought for a minute as they watched the now-deceased Bradshaw contemplate his situation, occasionally sighing and shaking his head. Reaching up, Matt hit the space bar to stop the playback. "Where is his car? It wasn't at the condo. He was parked outside the Tiki Torch on La Brea the last time I saw it, right before he took my advice and caught a cab home."

"We'll find out." Hoyt pulled out his phone and called Sanchez to have him check the impound lot and if it wasn't there, to have a unit go by the bar to see if it was still parked there. He hung up and nodded at Matt to start the playback, which he did.

Bradshaw moved over to the couch and slept for a while, then about 1:00am sat up and started drinking from the bottle again. Next he went up to the bedroom, making sure to take the whiskey with him, and got on his computer. Matt grabbed a notepad and jotted down **CHECK INTERNET ACTIVITY** before looking back up at the screen. After a couple more hours, he wandered into the bedroom, where he stood looking at the bed for a few minutes, continuing to hit the bottle, then turned and went back down to the living room and stretching out on the couch again. Matt jotted another note down: CHECK MOOHLAHMAN ACCT. The pair fast-forwarded past the rest of the night. Bradshaw got up at about 6:30 and made a phone call. Much to the disgust of Hoyt, he was in the bathroom the whole time. Houston wrote another note: CHECK CELL PHONE RECORDS.

Bradshaw drank his breakfast of whiskey and switched to another bottle. "I guess the ME will check the blood alcohol level won't he?" The PI looked over at the cop who nodded.

"He should, but we'll put in a request for it anyway. You never know what they'll do down there these days." Calling Sanchez once again and passing that request along, he found out that Bradshaw's car was at the impound lot. Once again, Matt was writing: CHECK CAR AT IMPOUND. "Taking thorough notes are we?"

"Yep, 'cause Gramps has been forgetting a lot lately." He received another thump on the head but snickered anyway.

The pair continued to watch as Bradshaw was obviously in deep thought. He went back up to the bedroom and dug into the dresser there, using a pencil to remove a pistol. The two detectives exchanged a glance. Bradshaw put the gun on top of the dresser and then went back down stairs and answered the door, returning to the kitchen with a small package. "Hello, we have a delivery. Too bad we couldn't see which company it was or if it was an individual." Matt watched as the accountant picked up a knife and slit the tape on the box and flipped back the lid. "What in the hell? Wait a minute." He pulled up a browser tab and researched mushrooms then went back and blew up the video of the contents of the package. After going back to the browser he stopped and then pointed at the screen. "There you go - Gyromitra esculenta – aka the false Morel."

"What is that thing? It looks like something an alien left behind." Hoyt made a face and Matt snickered.

"It's a poisonous mushroom. See it looks kinda like this one," he clicked to a picture of a Morel mushroom, "– although in my opinion I don't really see that strong of a resemblance. But according to this some folks mistake one for the other." Matt leaned back and looked at the screen.

"So I'm guessing that we're going to find his research on his web browser history. Pretty good, PI."

"Now back to the show." Matt hit the space bar again and restarted the playback. The two detectives watched as Bradshaw pulled one out of the box and looked at it, then replaced it and went upstairs where he showered and changed clothes, then left. Matt fast forwarded the feed to an hour later when Bradshaw reappeared walking in with the crock of soup which he put in the fridge. Houston stopped the video and rewound it, looking closely at the crock. "I don't see a note on there – do you?"

"Nope." Hoyt sighed. "Okay, I guess the crock came from the Bradshaw home. What about the feed there?"

"We haven't been through that part – but we will." Matt pulled up the feed from the time that Bradshaw left the condo and sure enough, about thirty minutes later he was walking in the front door of the house. The boys were at school and his wife was at work. He went upstairs and into the bedroom, opening the closet and digging through a box on the top shelf. Evidently he found what he was after: it looked like a card of some kind. He put it in his shirt pocket, then went down to the kitchen and pulled the crock out of the refrigerator and went back out the front door.

"Okay so now he's back at the condo." Matt switched back over to that surveillance feed. After putting the crock in the refrigerator, the accountant went back upstairs to the desk in his office where he pulled out the card and some paper. "Ahhh, he's using the card to fake her handwriting. He must not have been as drunk as he looked. This took some planning."

"Unbelievable." They watched as he worked to write the message then took a piece of tape and went back downstairs, attaching it to the crock of soup. He then pulled out a pan, some butter, and one of the mushrooms from the box. After cutting up the mushroom, he sautéed it in the butter, then added it to the crock of soup and mixed it up. "You know, I don't feel sorry for this guy or his wife or Janice Wheeler. But I do feel sorry for those kids."

"Uh huh." Matt sat there watching as Bradshaw went back up stairs and retrieved the pistol. "Did anyone ever find the pistol?"

"Nope. I'm anxious to see what he did with it."

Back in the kitchen, Bradshaw went back to cooking the mushrooms and opened a can of cream of chicken soup, adding it to the mushrooms. After the soup was heated in the pan, he started to eat.

"This is kinda hard to watch, ya know?" Matt looked over at Michael who nodded.

CJ walked in and sat down on the couch between the two. "So he did it to himself, huh? Umh." She shook her head.

A short time after finishing the concoction, the man was obviously beginning to feel the effects of the toxin. His breathing was labored and he was trembling as he was bent over double holding his stomach. He picked up the pistol using a paper towel. "He's shaking so bad how is he gonna…" Matt's question was cut off by gunfire. Bradshaw pulled the trigger as he began foaming at the mouth. "So he hit himself in the head twice…I'd say because of the tremors…but what about the rest of the shots?" They continued to watch as Matt sped up the playback. "Ah, here we go. And the winner is: Janice Wheeler. Man she looks pissed. And that explains the rest of the shots." The trainer left the same way she had come in – through the front door.

"This un-freakin'-believable." Hoyt shook his head. "It appears that Bradshaw was dead the minute he hit the floor. Janice Wheeler could be charged with abuse of a corpse, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence…and probably a few other things. But I seriously doubt if the DA will try to prosecute her or Dorothy Bradshaw for conspiracy to commit murder or attempted murder…not without confessions, anyway."

"I've been doing a little research while you boys have been busy in here and I've got some very interesting news…" CJ looked between the two men.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"Mrs. Bradshaw, we appreciate you being here today to help us." Michael Hoyt set a cup of coffee in front of the hairdresser.

"I don't understand how I can help." She took a sip and eyed Matt somewhat suspiciously. Hoyt hadn't introduced him and he stayed quiet, looking at the feed from Hoyt's office on his laptop. It was crystal clear. Closing the top, he leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table, sipping coffee as he watched.

"Well, this whole case has been very confusing for us. You see, not only was your husband shot fifteen times, he was also poisoned by mushrooms."

"Oh, nobody told me that." The complete lack of concern was evident in the woman's behavior. _She's not even making an effort to act like she gives a damn. _Matt took another sip as the woman nervously looked in his direction again.

"We just found out ourselves. Now it's been brought to our attention that your husband had to have his stomach pumped at the ER a few days ago. Can you tell us about that?"

"Leonard loved mushroom soup. It was his favorite and I've been making it for him for the last twenty years. Evidently the mushrooms were not the right ones and he had a bad reaction. It was an accident."

"And did you pick the mushrooms yourself?" Hoyt had begun taking notes on a legal pad.

"No, I ordered them online. They aren't available in this area this time of year."

"I see. And had you ordered from the same supplier before?"

"No, it was the first time."

"I understand you have two teenage boys at home, is that right?"

"Yes, twins. They're fourteen years old."

"So I'm assuming that no one else ate any of the soup – just Mr. Bradshaw?"

"Yes, I made it just for him. The boys and I don't like it."

"Uh huh." Hoyt continued to write on the pad, then looked over at Matt. "Did you have any questions for Mrs. Bradshaw, Detective?"

"Yes, I did. Why did Mr. Bradshaw have the condo? Were you two separated?" He gave the woman a solemn stare.

"No, we uh…we had been having some problems…lately…and I guess he just wanted a place to get away from the stress."

Matt nodded. "When exactly did these problems start, Mrs. Bradshaw?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe a month or so ago?"

"Uh huh. So why had he had the condo for almost ten years?"

"I…I have no idea…I didn't know that he did." She was trying a little harder now, but wasn't succeeding.

"We have witnesses that have seen you there in the parking lot several times over the last few years. Do you know why that might be?"

"They must be mistaken. I've never been there." The indignation was starting to creep into her voice. "I really don't understand why you're asking me all these questions." A slight bit of panic was starting to show.

"Because it appears that your husband was murdered. Can you tell us why you were there the day he died?" Matt stood up and walked over to the window, looking out across the city.

Dorothy Bradshaw began stammering. "I…I wasn't there. I've never been there." She suddenly stood up. "And I'll have you know that I resent the implications." Turning and heading for the door she was stopped by Matt who had made it across the room in three steps.

"We're not finished yet, Mrs. Bradshaw." He held onto the doorknob so that she couldn't leave.

"Am I under arrest then? Because if I am I demand a lawyer." She looked between the two men.

"No ma'am – you're not under arrest. You're being detained for questioning." Matt stepped between the woman and the door.

"I demand a lawyer. Now." She looked at Hoyt who picked up the phone and began dialing a number.

"Make sure it's a good one. Miss Wheeler sounds like a very convincing witness." Matt's comment had the desired effect: Dorothy Bradshaw spun around with a look of shock on her face.

"She told you _I_ was there? No, no, no, no….she was there. That dirty, rotten, two-timing…"

"Careful now. Anything you say can be held against you." Matt gave her a grim smile – one that Hoyt found himself glad not to be on the receiving end of.

She turned back toward Michael. "Can we talk?"

"I thought you wanted a lawyer?" He pointed to the phone.

"I do…" She sank back down into the chair in front of Hoyt's desk.

An hour later, a highly aggravated Janice Wheeler was brought up to the fourth floor of the station and escorted down the hallway to one of the interrogation rooms – after being led by Lt. Hoyt's office where she saw Dorothy Bradshaw pointing through the glass at her and screaming obscenities. While another officer kept Mrs. Bradshaw corralled in his office, Hoyt and Matt walked down to the interrogation room where Wheeler was having a field day cursing at the officer that had brought her in. "Miss Wheeler, please have a seat." Hoyt asked the officer to wait outside as he and Matt came into the room.

"Who do you think you are having me picked up while I am with a client? I want my lawyer, right now!"

Hoyt handed her phone to her. "Go ahead and call."

As her shaky hands began looking for the number, Matt kicked back in the chair opposite of her and propped his boots on the window frame. "Hope it's a good one. That always makes the court days a lot more fun." He sipped on his coffee as he and Michael exchanged a smirk.

Janice slammed her phone down on the table. Matt whistled. "And CJ thinks I'm rough on phones…" He shook his head. "Thought you were gonna call a lawyer?"

"I am. And when I'm done I'll have both of your badges, you just watch." She picked the phone up and continued to scroll through it looking for the number.

Matt snickered. "That would be a might tricky. At least for one of us."

"Oh, how is that? My lawyer will nail both of you." She glared at him

"'Cause I'm not a cop." He gave her a big toothy grin.

"Then why are you here?" The phone hit the table again.

"Because I work for the department." Cool as a cucumber, Matt sipped more coffee and watched the fitness trainer practically roll steam out of her ears.

"Then you are a cop." She picked up the phone again, then began tapping it in the palm of her hand. "Stupid…"

"Good thing there isn't such a crime as phone abuse." He was having a great time getting her stirred up.

"UUUUUUHHHHHHGGGGGG! What do you want?" Wheeler suddenly sat down in the chair.

"We want to know why you killed Leonard Bradshaw. That's all." Matt put the empty cup in the trash can and yawned.

"I didn't kill him. I guess Dorothy is trying to frame me for it? Is that it? Well it isn't going to work. I didn't kill him."

"We have witnesses that put you at his place at the time he died. The shots were from your gun." Matt sat up and turned the chair around backwards, sitting down and leaning his arms on the back of it.

"Well they didn't see me."

"They positively identified you and your car. Said they've seen you there lots of times." He rested his chin on his arms.

Janice looked over at Hoyt. "So I guess this is the good cop – bad cop routine that they talk about on TV?"

"No, he's not a cop." Hoyt looked down at the folder in front of him.

"Look, I went there but he was already dead, I swear. I guess SHE gave him more of that soup." She motioned up the hallway toward Hoyt's office.

"So if he was already dead, why did you shoot him?" Matt stared directly into her eyes.

"I…I was mad. He used my gun. He had no right to do that."

"So you shot him because he used your gun but he was already dead." Matt shook his head and looked at Hoyt. "Is it just me or is that bassackwards?"

"It would seem that way, wouldn't it?" Michael looked back down at the folder and flipped a page, his seeming disinterest furthering Janice Wheeler's anger.

"All I did was shoot a dead body. What is that? Abuse of a corpse? So charge me." She sat back in the chair with her arms crossed.

"Okay." Hoyt wrote something on the back page of the file. "Anything else?"

The trainer looked back and forth between the two men. "You guys are insane."

"I've been accused of that on more than one occasion, but isn't this your first, Hoyt?" The PI looked at his friend who appeared to be having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"No, actually it's not." The cop went back to reading through the file.

Wheeler started cursing again. After yawning again, Matt spoke: "When you're done there, how about telling us your version of the other stuff…unless you just want us to go with what Dorothy said?"

"Hah! Fat chance of that happening! Okay, I'll tell you what little Miss Goody Two Shoes didn't. We both tried to kill him. I tried to run him down about two weeks ago and she tried to poison him. The dumb bastard couldn't even die like he was supposed to!"

"Anything else you want to add?" Hoyt had his pen at the ready.

"No – except that I want a lawyer."

"Okay." The two men got up and walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Matt pulled up in the driveway at his house, slid out of the truck and walked into the kitchen to find CJ and Catey having a discussion over a bottle. He bent down and kissed CJ, then gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "How are my ladies doing this evening?"

"Just fine. How did it go with Wheeler and Bradshaw?" She handed the baby and her bottle to Matt who carried his daughter into the living room to the recliner where he sat down, toed off his boots, and began feeding the cooing baby.

"Well, it was quite informative." He grinned at his wife as she walked in and sat down next to him. "Dorothy gave up Janice, Janice gave up Dorothy and they are both looking at some jail time more than likely." His expression turned serious. "But, what bothers me most is the boys. They're going to end up being shipped out of state to Bradshaw's brother. Still, maybe it's better than being in a house where both parents are cheating and one is trying to kill the other." He shook his head. "Both of those women have a temper. You should have seen their reactions when I told them what you had discovered about the insurance not paying off if it was suicide."

Watching as their daughter smiled up at her dad, she replied, "So I guess Leonard Bradshaw got his revenge after all."


End file.
